Before starting each player should have the following:
- 3 Gate Cards (one for each color)
- 3 Ability Cards (one for each color)
Players sit opposite each other about 2 and half feet away from each other. The play area must be smooth and flat. The space between the two players is called “The Field”.
When players are ready to start playing they say: “Field – Open!” Players put their unused Bakugan and cards in front of them or hold their cards so their opponent cannot see the faces of the cards. To the left of each player is the ‘used pile’ where players put used Bakugans, won cards and used cards.
Playing the Game
At the same time the two players put a Gate Card in front of their opponent (face down – so the logo is showing). The two cards should be head to head and nearly touching. As they are doing this the players say: “Gate Card- Set!” Setting the gate cards starts at every turn when there are no more gate cards on the field.
The youngest player goes first. Players take turns to roll their Bakugan balls. As a player rolls his Bakugan ball he says: “Bakugan – Brawl!” and rolls one of his unused Bakugan balls onto the field aiming at a Gate Card.
If the player's Bakugan ball rolls onto a Gate Card and opens then one of three things happen:
1) If there isn't an opponent's Bakugan ball on the same Gate Card it is the next player's turn.
2) If a Bakugan opens on a gate card containing an opponent's Bakugan then a Bakugan Battle ensues
3) If a player rolls his Bakugan ball onto a gate card which already contains another one of his Bakugans then he wins the gate card (if the other gate card also contains one of his Bakugan or if there is only one Gate Card in play); or the Bakugan moves to the other Gate Card where it will fight the opponent’s Bakugan.
How to Battle
When two opposing Bakugan find themselves on the same Gate Card they battle. The Bakugan are detached from the Gate Card and the card is flipped over to reveal the Gate Card Information. First the Gate Reveal is read and any instructions are followed. Then players have the option to play an Ability Card. If an Ability Card is used then a player reads the card and follows the instructions.
Once Ability Cards have been played then each player adds up their score. This is done by adding the G-Power score of their Bakugan to the Gate Card G-Power boost. To find out the amount of the G-Power boost match the color of the Bakugan with the number with the same color on the Gate Card.
The Bakugan with the highest overall G-Power number is the winner. Unless an Ability Card specifies otherwise. The command on any Ability Card takes precedence over the numerical winner of the G-Power competition.
In the event of a tie each player rolls an unused Bakugan. The first player to get a Bakugan to open on a Gate Card is the winner and claims the Gate Card from the previously drawn bout.
The winner of the game is the first player to collect three Gate Cards.
Other Rules
If you run out of Bakugan to roll then you move all the Bakugan from your used pile back to your unused pile and choose a Bakugan ball to roll.
Until a Bakugan ball rolls onto a Gate card it should remain closed and its G-Power a secret from the opposing player.
If a Bakugan is clear – i.e. doesn't have an attribute color - then the clear Bakugan takes the same attribute color as the Bakugan it is fighting. If both Bakugan contesting a Gate Card are clear then players decide which color they want their Bakugan to be BEFORE flipping the Gate Card.
If a Bakugan ball only partially opens on a Gate Card it is counted as fully open.
That is it for the core rules of Bakugan. Once you have mastered this level of Bakugan then you are ready to look at the strategies involved with Ability Cards and the extra rules involved with playing with Bakugan Traps.
